Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com JAN. 1, 2021 13 UNDER THE DOME IAN BOOK WINS POP WARNER AWARD Fifth-year senior quarterback Ian Book is the 2020 Pop Warner National College Football Award recipient. It was first awarded in 2010 and fetes a college foot- ball player in his final year of eligibility who has made a difference on the field, in the classroom and in the community, serving as a role model to young athletes. Book won over five other finalists in the Football Bowl Subdivision: Baylor linebacker Terrell Bernard, Utah linebacker Devin Lloyd, Stanford safety Malik An- toine, Alabama tight end Miller Forristall and Ken- tucky tackle Landon Young. • On the field, the two- time captain Book (one of 23 in school history) led a second unbeaten regular season in three years and be- came the first Notre Dame quarterback to win 30 starts. • In the classroom, Book graduated from Notre Dame in 2019, with a major in marketing from the Mendoza College of Business, one of the nation's top-ranked busi- ness schools. He is now a graduate student. • In the community, Book has been involved in numer- ous charities and was a member of Notre Dame's Rosen- thal Leadership Academy, which develops and enhances strong leadership with programming for emerging and existing leaders. Student-athletes are nominated by peers and confirmed by coaching staffs. DAELIN HAYES WINS FREDDIE SOLOMON COMMUNITY SPIRIT AWARD Fifth-year senior defensive end Daelin Hayes is the 2020 recipient of the Freddie Solomon Community Spirit Award, honoring a collegiate football player who has impacted the lives of others through giving and community service. A team captain, Hayes has taken a leading role in the program for speaking out on racial injustice and inequal- ity, joining programs like NBC's "The Today Show" to speak on behalf of the team. He also has been actively involved in the Robinson Community Learning Cen- ter in South Bend, teaching a twice-weekly class last fall at the Center, working with fourth- and fifth-graders on how to resolve conflicts in a healthy manner. Among his numerous other volunteer efforts have been: Food Bank of Northern Indiana, South Bend Cen- ter for the Homeless, Boys & Girls Club of St. Joseph County, facilitator at the Notre Dame Summer Bridge Program helping new freshman student-athletes begin at college, and mentor at the South Bend Juvenile De- tention Center. Hayes also is one of three finalists for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man Of The Year Award. — Lou Somogyi JEREMIAH OWUSU-KORAMOAH AND PRINCE KOLLIE NAMED BUTKUS AWARD WINNERS For the third time in the last nine years, the Butkus Award that honors the nation's top col- lege linebacker has a Notre Dame recipient. Senior rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah won the award, first presented in 1985, over four other finalists: Nick Bolton (Missouri), Zaven Collins (Tulsa), Devin Lloyd (Utah) and Monty Rice (Georgia). The 6-1, 215-pound Owusu-Koramoah joins former Fighting Irish standouts Manti Te'o (2012) and Jaylon Smith (2015) as recipients of the honor. Meanwhile, 2021 Notre Dame signee Prince Kollie won the Butkus Award at the high school level. Eight years ago, the same occurred when Te'o won the laurel as a college senior and Smith as a high school senior. A thunderous hitter with freakish athletic gifts, Owusu-Koramoah — a native of Hampton, Va. — is the prototype every-down modern linebacker who can physically hold the edge against the run yet also cover receivers and running backs in today's spread offenses. The selection committee is comprised of 51 football coaches, re- cruiters, talent scouts and journalists. They are asked to recognize qualities that defined Butkus' career: toughness, on-field leadership, competitiveness, football character and linebacking skills. They fol- low a 3-2-1 weighted vote in a confidential ballot. Said the committee: "Owusu-Koramoah has proven to be an im- pact defender for one of the nation's top defenses. He is deployed in many alignments and must be accounted for wherever he aligns on the field. His versatility sets him apart and distinguished his contri- butions, with the unique ability to defend the pass as well as the run and factor as a weapon blitzing. He possesses an explosive skill set that translated to making plays at every level of the defense." Meanwhile, Kollie, a 6-2, 205-pounder from Jonesborough (Tenn.) David Crockett High School, was the Tennessee Class 5A Mr. Football award winner and earned an invitation to the 2021 Under Armour All-American Bowl. The other four finalists were Chief Borders (Florida), Barrett Carter (Clemson), Chaz Cham- bliss (Georgia) and Deontae Lawson (Alabama). — Lou Somogyi BRENDON CLARK'S KNEE TO BE EVALUATED In the regular-season finale versus Syracuse Dec. 5, sophomore and No. 2 quarterback Brendon Clark was seen sporting a brace on his knee. "Brendon had ACL surgery in high school and the knee has been cranky," head coach Brian Kelly revealed. "The knee brace is to give him more stability through the rest of the season. He'll get evaluated at the end of the season as to whether there needs to be a procedure cleaning it up or a reassessment of where he's at." Consequently, freshman Drew Pyne was the second signal-caller to see action in the game for the Irish, and he also was deemed the next option for the ACC Championship and likely the rest of the postseason. "Clark could play if necessary," Kelly said. "His knee is such that it would be an emergency situation for us." — Lou Somogyi BOOK HAYES KOLLIE OWUSU-KORAMOAH